LyrArc Article Gist
Karl Rove, who guided the George W. Bush election campaigns, says why the U.S. presidential race is not over after the Romney gaffe about the "47%" who would always support Obama because of dependency on the government for benefits. He points to the situation facing Reagan- a useful reminder of how difficult it is to know which way the presidential race will turn. As a Hollywood actor, Reagan with the new idea of supply side economics- considered "voodoo economics" by George Bush, his rival in the primaries- was seen with skepticsm before the election. Rove cites Gallup polls at the time, showing in mid-Sept. 1980 Jimmy Carter leading Ronald Reagan by 44% to 40%. By late October 1980 polls showed Carter ahead 47% to 39% for Reagan. On Election Day this turned to where Reagan won by nine points. A more revealing figure about the real feelings about the electorate in Rove's view is that in the past month in only 9 of 83 national polls and daily tracking surveys does Obama reach 50%, and the average is 47%. And the economy still shows high unemployment, enough for the Federal Reserve's Bernanke to announce a QE III program for support.